Indonesia aims to strengthen academic, research ties with Saudi Arabia

Indonesia’s Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto, shakes hands with Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal Abdullah Amodi during a meeting in Jakarta on March 12, 2025. (Antara)
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Updated 13 March 2025
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Indonesia aims to strengthen academic, research ties with Saudi Arabia

  • Kingdom is among top destination countries for Indonesian students 
  • Indonesian minister eyes more research projects with Saudi universities 

JAKARTA: Indonesia aims to strengthen academic, scientific, and research ties with Saudi Arabia, its Ministry of Higher Education said on Thursday, following talks on future collaboration with the Kingdom’s envoy to Jakarta.

Indonesia’s Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto met with Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal Abdullah Amodi on Wednesday to discuss plans for cooperation in higher education between their two countries. 

“We are committed to expanding cooperation between Indonesian and Saudi universities,” Yuliarto said in a statement.

“We hope that more Indonesian professors can collaborate with their counterparts at the top Saudi universities, partnering in more programs and research projects.”

Further talks are expected to take place after Eid Al-Fitr, involving rectors from Indonesian universities, the ministry said.

There are currently more than 2,000 Indonesians studying in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the top destination countries for young scholars from the Southeast Asian nation.

Saudi-Indonesian ties span centuries, but have gained momentum in recent years following King Salman’s visit to Indonesia in 2017, which has since sparked more bilateral exchanges. 

In education, cooperation includes exchange programs and Saudi scholarships for Indonesian students. 

Saudi Arabia’s higher education sector is observing a boom and becoming globally competitive and innovative, in line with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Focusing on quality, international partnerships, STEM education, and research, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a leader in education in the Gulf region.

Saudi Arabia has also sponsored the development of multiple schools and universities in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. 


Russia hits Ukraine with drones, missiles, kills at least 10 in Kharkiv

Updated 58 min 20 sec ago
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Russia hits Ukraine with drones, missiles, kills at least 10 in Kharkiv

  • Zelensky said that Russia launched 480 drones and 29 missiles targeting the energy sector and railway infrastructure
  • “There should be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life“

KHARKIV, Ukraine: Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and killing at least 10 people, including two children, in the northeast city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia launched 480 drones and 29 missiles targeting the energy sector and railway infrastructure across the country.
“There should be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life,” Zelensky said on the Telegram app.
“Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure, ⁠and therefore support should ⁠continue,” Zelensky said, urging partners to continue air defense and weapons supplies.


Ukrainian air defense units shot down 453 drones and 19 missiles, the air force said. But nine missiles and 26 attack drones hit 22 sites, it said.

BALLISTIC MISSILE SLAMS INTO RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
The city of Kharkiv was targeted by both Russian drones and missiles, and 10 people, including two children, were killed after ⁠a Russian ballistic missile slammed into a five-story residential building, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
“When we arrived here 20 minutes after the explosion, I thought I was going to have a stroke. I couldn’t string two words together, and my legs were buckling,” Hanna, a resident of the destroyed building, told Reuters.
“It’s good that I wasn’t there with my child and that my father was with me. It was ordinary people who lived there. What were they targeting?“
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces carried out massive overnight strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial complexes, military airfields and energy facilities, the Interfax news agency reported.
In ⁠Kharkiv, 15 ⁠people were also wounded, and 19 residential buildings were damaged by the Russian attacks, Syniehubov said.
Commercial and administrative buildings, electricity distribution lines, and cars were also hit, he said.
In Kyiv, three people were injured, and the heating was knocked out in 2,806 residential apartment buildings in four districts across the capital after Russian strikes hit an energy infrastructure facility, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
National grid operator Ukrenergo said that emergency power cuts were introduced in seven regions following the Russian attacks.
Ukrainian officials said that Russia also attacked four railway stations and other railway infrastructure in central Ukraine and port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region, setting on fire containers with vegetable oil and damaging a grain warehouse.